A Griswold woman is facing 100 days in prison after pleading guilty to beating a 4-year-old girl in her care in January.

Jami Littlefield, 51, pleaded guilty Monday in Norwich Superior Court to third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17.

Terms of the plea bargain call for a one-year prison sentence, suspended after 100 days served, and two years’ probation.

Littlefield made the guilty plea under the Alford Doctrine, which means she denies the accusations but admits the prosecution may have enough evidence to convict her.

She agrees that the beating happened but doesn’t accept the police and prosecution’s account of the surrounding circumstances, Littlefield’s lawyer, Peter Catania said in court.

Littlefield served as a foster parent to the child.

According to police, the beating happened on the evening on Jan. 7 at Littlefield’s home. Littlefield used a wooden spoon, police said.

At first, Littlefield told police that she had not hit the child and the child may have been injured by a fall. She denied noticing that the child was bruised even when bathing her, police said. Police said Littlefield’s story was constantly changing.

Several days later, Littlefield admitted using the spoon to hit the child three or four times because the child was misbehaving and out of control, police said. She told police that when questioned at first, she panicked and was not completely truthful.

The beating left severe bruising, police said. The injuries weren’t reported to police until Jan. 11 during a supervised visit of the child with her biological parents. The child was treated at Pequot Medical Center in Groton.

The state Department of Child and Families removed the child and her brother from Littlefield’s home after the beating was reported, police said.